The Act Of Killing
by TaintedE
Summary: Naruto AU. "Let's start off with the basics; name, age, all that formal bollocks. I am Hiroyasu Mienai, aged about fifteen/sixteen, 7th heir to the Mienai Clan. Not by birth, I'm afraid, but due to the… unfortunate status of the clan; in short, I'm the only one left.


**The following is all fantasy, don't try to do magic, don't play with sharp objects, don't be rude, and MOST IMPORTANTLY: Don't do drugs kids.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I don't own a goat either. But I can dream.**

-T.E-

Let's start off with the basics; name, age, all that formal bollocks. I am Hiroyasu Mienai, aged about fifteen/sixteen, 7th heir to the Mienai Clan. Not by birth, I'm afraid, but due to the… unfortunate status of the clan; in short, I'm the only one left.

That's a story for another time though. For now, I've been gifted near enough ten minutes of entertainment by the classes' local heart throb, a certain cool, chauvinistic character who goes by the name Nara. Or at least he goes by that name in my presence.

I give him three seconds more before he snaps.

3…

2…

1…

Oh my word, we have a new record! Just over 11 min-

"Could you please just leave me alone for _once_ in your miserable lives?" And there we have it ladies and gentlemen, an impressive 11 minutes and 6 seconds, a truly remarkable feat of patience.

I kind of feel bad for him really. It used to be Sasuke's job, but he called me in to rescue him. I'm practically the class ghost, an unknown, so a subtle threat from me is seen as rather menacing, despite the fact that the content is actually rather droll. I think for that specific occasion I went more along the lines of 'hang out with him, hang out with me'. He's only got one open admirer now, which is actually pretty offensive. A drop of eight girls, merely so they don't have to be near me? Ouch.

Then again, of the ten girls in my class, only two even have a smidgen of my respect, one for their complete refusal to give up on Sasu's heart (she even tries to befriend me every now and again. That takes guts…) and the other for the fact I have never, NEVER seen her fangirl. Not once. In this class, that's a big thing.

Anyway, back to the present. And here. We. Goooo! The teacher is in. The register is taken, the… he forgot about me again. I've given up caring to be honest. I don't help the matter, sitting in the back of the class, hidden by shadows, rarely talking. But still, he could at least pretend to care. That's what teachers do, isn't it? I was kind of expecting that by this time I would be asked questions such as 'Has anyone touched your private parts?'. Not hoping, you understand, just an expectation.

Anyway, I seem to have missed the introduction to the lesson. There is, however, a set of wooden training weapons in the corner, so I'm assuming swordsmanship is the topic of the day. Which is good, because this is my scene. Of course, this is just training, so minimalism is the word of the day. In a real fight, you can't afford to pull any punches. But in school? Keep your tricks up your sleeve.

I'm not the only one with this mind-set of course. Bug-boy (he doesn't take offense from that nickname, I got Sasuke to check) could rival me in a spar, which is no mean feat, but on paper? He's middle of the heap at best. I'm even lower than he is.

Others, however, swear against this tactic. 'The harder you work, the better the training' or so they say. I still believe restraining yourself is better, and not to sound too arrogant, but I stand as evidence to its effectiveness.

Aaand I'm deviating, back to the present; they're heading outside. I clamber out of my chair towards the weapon rack (I didn't trip, I tactically ducked from an attacking bee. Promise.) Some idiot has already taken the only naginata. I wouldn't mind, except I am the only person who can actually wield it, let alone wield it _well_. It did take me training pretty much non-stop for several months, and then training four hours a day since. I did eat though, _and_ sleep occasionally (passing out counts, right?).

I talk too much. Training. Turns out the dog-boy (I didn't ask his permission, and I frankly hope he hates me for it) chose my weapon in a pitiful attempt at gaining girls attention. Who are too busy hounding ( _hound_ ing, geddit?) Nara to even glance at the mutt. I fail to see his logic though. It is my weapon, and I get no girls at all. I seriously hope I get to go against him. I'm actually listening to Iruka-sensei now, I deserve credit.

"Right Kiba, you'll be going with…" he stops, glancing at his sheet. Please be me, please be me, please be-, "…Sasuke."

Karma just had to strike now, didn't it. I suppose that's the point of karma, striking when you least want it to. Suppose it was stupid of me to expect him to remember my presence.

But wait! He _did_ remember me! I'm touched, truly.

I've got Aburame (bug-boy) which isn't too bad considering… We've got an unspoken agreement in which we alternate the winner each time we spar (It pisses off the teachers, but they can't really do anything). This time it's his turn, so I go down after three light hits from his bo. It's a pretty appropriate weapon for him: it's got a long range, light, and can be used to manoeuvre his bugs onto his opponent.

I'll stop there, I don't wanna reveal _all_ his secrets.

Sasuke trashes doggy, a single hit. No other battle really worth describing unfortunately, which is pretty depressing. Not that there's no one strong enough, but the pairing system is pretty unfair. Bored, bored, bo-oooOOOH! The girls are talking to Nara, despite his occasional angry outbursts. I feel harsh letting him suffer, seeing as it's indirectly my fault, so after watching him stew for a bit, I stride over and lay down beside him to 'watch the clouds' with him (…sleep). The sparring must have suddenly become interesting then, cos all the girls moved closer to watch. I get a gratuitous nod, and I sleep through the rest of the lesson.

Soon enough we get called back into the classroom and Sensei goes through the oncoming graduation exams. From what I've heard they're a piece of piss, if you'll excuse _la francais_. The only person who could even worry about failing is Naruto, but that's not because he's skill-less. He's pretty good at taijustu, but on anything else? He hasn't been given enough training on, well, anything.

He's an orphan, pretty much like me and Sasuke, except that we have each other (how cute). He does occasionally come over to train, but he seems to get nervous just leaving his house nowadays. Too many attacks from arrogant shinobi who use some bullshit excuse to justify them. We don't talk much, but I do send the occasional nod his way. I think he appreciates that.

And school bell rings. Time to head back home. I need to find Sasuke, we have a tradition of racing one another home. Childish, I know, but its good training. B

Damn it, bastard's taken off already. I can still catch up if I take a shortcut.

-T.E-

Even with the head start, he lost. Either he's lost his touch, or I'm just _that good_ (trust me when I say it's the latter). Tonight, Uke's cooking. Actually preparing and heating food. Neither of us are dreadful in the kitchen, due to A LOT of trial and error, but we're just too lazy to do it regularly. We do cook as a celebratory thing though, and today was the last educational day at the academy.

It's going to be a while before he's finished, so I suppose there's no better time to tell you that story I promised.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin…

-T.E-

 _Young Hiro POV/_ _ **No POV**_

 _I'm hungry. Mummy didn't let me have any pudding because she said I had too much dinner, but I'm still not full up. Daddy says it's because my belly is getting used to me training, but I still want pudding. I'm gunna wait until mummy goes to bed then have a little bit of cake._

 _*Tak*_

 _What was that?_

 _*Tak*_

 _I clamber out of bed and tipppy-toe to the window. I'm not scared of the dark, but I get a just in case. Outside is Sasuke, throwing little stones at my window. I giggle, he's so silly!_

 _I run to the sitting room and nudge Mummy and Daddy awake. They often fall asleep on the sofa. Apparently I 'rare' them out?_

" _Mummy, Sasuke is outside. Can we let him in?" I yawn, so mummy and daddy think I was sleeping._

 _Mummy looks at daddy and smiles._

" _You were dreaming again Hiro. Go back to bed."_

" _I wasn't, promise! He's frowing stones at my window!"_

 _Daddy sighs._

" _Stay here. We'll go out and get him." I don't think they believe me. About five minutes later Sasuke comes in. He looks sad._

" _Take Sasuke up and set up his bed, okay? Me and Daddy have a job we need to do."_

 _Mummy kisses us both on the cheek. Then she picks up her big sword and goes outside. I hear the big bell ring, and the rest of the big people of the clan run outside, with their weapons too._

 _Like Mummy told me to, I lead Sasuke upstairs. He starts crying again, so I give him a hug. Poor Sasuke._

 _He just cries._

 _ **Outside the clan compound, chaos ensued. A small army of ninja, all dressed in black and white trench-coats, faced off against a much smaller, more uniform group of ninja. Despite the apparent disadvantage, the smaller group was slowly overwhelming the opposition.**_

 _ **Two of this party lay dead, the rest were constantly forced on the defence by invisible objects sent their way by somehow - levitating ninja. Another fell, clawing desperately at his face, as though something was covering his mouth. But for each of theirs dead, about twenty of the monochrome ninja also died.**_

 _ **The battle raged on for hours, and the large courtyard was a sea of corpses. Eventually all that remained were three lone fighters, two vs one. Of the two, one was levitating, with an abnormally large white owl hovering by her side. She had long flowing hair, which flicked around her pale face as if in blistering winds. Her entire body was decorated by intricate tattoos, the colours melding with her ebony attire.**_

 _ **Her partner was the odd one out from the otherwise colourless group. He was well built, with faded orange hair that fell just above his hips. His uniform was a sleeveless red jumpsuit, with a black hood casting his face into shadow. He sat towering over the village on the back of a oversized orange primate.**_

 _ **Their opponent was a creepy man, a leer set upon his face. His features imitated that of the giant snake he sat upon, down to the slitted eyes and scaly skin. Despite the apparent disadvantage he held an arrogant posture.**_

 _ **The two parties seemed at a stalemate, all breathing heavily. The bulky male reached behind his ear and retrieved a burgundy earring. He held his thumb against his forearm, a smaller ape flickering into existence. Without a sound it ran off, earring in hand.**_

 _ **They waited a while, catching their breath. Then, at some silent signal, they all leaped into battle again. The woman leapt onto her summons, letting loose arrow after arrow from her shimmering bow. She dived, her ride clawing at the eyes of the snake before rising again, out of reach.**_

 _ **The giant ape was took the advantage to grapple with the snake, forcing its head to the ground. His partner leapt off his head, arm cocked for a powerful blow to the opponents face. This was easily dodged, a smaller snake darting towards the orange-haired man's eyes, it's futile efforts crushed in his target's powerful grip.**_

 _ **All of a sudden the ape-man leapt backwards, landing onto his own summons. The giant snake seemed to pop, leaving the intruder seemingly defeated. His body was littered with arrows, and he lacked the energy to stand. The leer, however, didn't leave his face. His neck snapped forward, stretching an inhuman distance as he went to bite the flying woman. At the last minute his target was blocked by her partner, taking the bite himself. He fell to the floor, spasms wracking his body. An outraged cry filled the air, as the elongated neck was hit by a vast array of projectiles. He collapsed to the floor, face clenched in pain. The remaining summons disappeared, the woman racing towards her partners side. In her overwhelming sorrow, she failed to notice the paper stuck to his head.**_

 _ **The world turned red, orange, then black.**_

-T.E-

The final two survivors were my parents. Although they were not the leaders of the clan, they were some of the strongest, and together they repelled the man, at the cost of their lives.

The orange ape was an orangutan, my father's personal summons. It brought me and Sasuke into the 'safety room', a fortified room built as a safe place for the children in case of attack. We were the only children in the building that weren't old enough to fight. The only ones alive.

For all I know the murderer bled to death on his route back to whichever sewer he came from, his body never found. I hope so, but I doubt it. I learnt later he was Orochimaru, the snake sannin famed for his regenerative properties.

So I train. Not for vengeance, no, that's Uke's role. I train to protect those I love, against arseholes like _him._ If I do face him though, I won't complain. I'll just pulverise his bloody face, and serve his filleted body to whoever wants him. Snakes can be eaten, right?

On the mention of food, supper's ready. Mmmmm, lamb ribs, my favourite.

-T.E-

 **Well…**

 **Firstly, review, favourite, follow, any will do, though reviews would be nice even if you absolutely hated it.**

 **Secondly, updates. No idea how frequently cos I'm dreadful at deadlines, but if it's more than two years, assume I'm definitely dropped it unless I say otherwise. I do like this story so far, and am planning on keeping it until the end.**

 **Until next time!**

 **This story isn't new. I had already put this story on FF, but I made so many changes to this chapter people didn't know what to think. So here it is again, this time (hopefully) for good.**


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